Marco Simoncelli (born in Cattolica, Rimini, Italy, January 20, 1987 - died in Sepang, Malaysia, October 23, 2011 at age 24 years) is one of the MotoGP riders who came from Italy, and is quite famous for its racing character is quite fierce.

The incident last Thursday afternoon was captured on CCTV and the couple are appealing for help in finding the two thieves.

Mrs Parsons said one of them wore a helmet with a black star and silver lining.

They were riding a scrambler-type machine with yellow wheels.

She added: 'He's just gorgeous and a brilliant dog – really clever. The customers really took to him as he's a real character. Everybody turned soft when they saw him – even the biggest blokes were reduced to mush.'

She added: 'We have never had a puppy before. We decided to get one because we could take him to work with us.

Jayne Hayes, founder of the charity Dog Lost, said the number of pedigree dogs being stolen had soared since the recession began.

'We see 150 to 200 cases a week. People just grab the dogs and sell them on and they get away with it because the police don't do much.

'I've never seen a theft like this before, though. This a worrying development, but there is definitely a market out there for expensive pedigree dogs like Alfie.'